Swaziland

Swaziland

No media freedom

A small enclave within South Africa, King Mswati III’s Swaziland is an absolute monarchy that prevents journalists from working freely and obstructs access to information. No court is allowed to prosecute or try members of the government, but any criticism of the regime is liable to be the subject of a prosecution. For fear of reprisals, journalists censor themselves almost systematically. In January 2018, an investigative journalist had to flee to South Africa after being threatened in connection with an article revealing the king’s involvement in an alleged corruption case. His newspaper was closed on the king’s orders.